Craig Antone Wolter

Craig A Wolter passed away on 5/19/2019 near his home at Givens Hot Springs, Idaho while doing what he passionately loved for over 50 years: flying. The stories about Craig and the important people in his life are endless. He is survived by his soul mate, Connie Judd, his daughter Alica Wolter-Hausser and her husband Rory Hausser, his 2 grandchildren Lyle Hausser and Calvin Heussner from Alaska. His sister Judy Everett, her daughter Emily and husband Bill and his brother Donald Wolter and his family, and his father Claire Wolter.
Craig was beyond a force of nature, living more in 71 years then most lived in over 100. He left home young and lived in Hawaii, enlisted in the Navy and did 2 tours in Vietnam then the reserves. Like so many others, he had his demons from that war. He honored and helped those who served as best could. He married Linda Votaw while serving in the Navy and along came Alica. He studied Political Science and Economics in college in the 70s, joining one of the first student groups allowed to travel to China. Later in life he obtained his Bachelors and Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology and for years was a counselor flying to the bush and then working at the Wasilla Veterans Center with other combat vets. His professional aviation career over 40 years included barnstorming, crop dusting, teaching, flying every region and terrain in the state of Alaska for close to 40 years. He met his wife Connie in Nome in 1982 when she was a village health nurse and he was her bush pilot. They ran dog teams together, hunted and fished together, took turns going back to college and ended up pursing careers in psychology. They moved to Idaho in 2014.
Craig loved to help people (whether or not they asked) and he loved to share the joy and passion of aviation with anyone and everyone who asked. His daughter and grandchildren were always his most avid passengers. There are countless numbers of people around the world who could share amazing stories about their flights with Craig, from flightseeing around Denali, fishing off float planes in Prince William Sound or in the lakes around Bristol Bay, medivacs from the bush to hospitals around the Alaska, flying injured otters from Exon oil spills to be rescued . Or the homesteaders who snow shoed runways for him to bring in supplies and those who experienced aerobatics over the Harding Ice Fields. He pretty much never met a plane he didn’t love to fly: from a Cessna 150 to 402, from a de Havilland Beaver on floats to an L39 jet and then of course his precious homebuilt RV7 and Skybolt biplanes.
Craig’s deepest soul wounds came from the war, but his greatest healing came from helping and being helped by other veterans, as well as from the love of friends, family and his grandchildren. His heart was huge and his soul was deep. He loved to ponder the nature of reality, to accept the flow of life and death without fear, to contemplate the Tao, to be present in every moment and to play in the air like a bird. He lived a full, passionate, adventurous and loving life.

Craig’s Celebration of Life and Remembrance in Idaho will be held at 11309 Highway 78, outside at Givens Hot Springs, Idaho on Saturday September 28th at 10AM. In lieu of flowers or gifts please donate to the Idaho Food Bank. His Celebration of Life in Alaska is yet to be arranged, but will be at the Wolf Lake Airport, Wasilla in spring, 2020.
Condolences may be shared with the family at www.dakanfuneralchapel.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Craig Antone Wolter, please visit our floral store.